A non sugar-coated look at Jimmy's season

[koolkatluke]

Andre Neblett vs. Ed johnson let's get ready 2 rumble.

I'll start it

F### Ed johnson my research say that when Neblett was in the game the other team RB avg. 1.5 less YPC then when EJ was in the game.

You hear that you EJ lovers.

[Raskle]

He's what we've got going into next season at this point and time... just let it go until the Draft / TC /preseason. Not worth the arguments on here about it.

[Semaj]

another Jimmy bashing thread? How about something new and original? I hope Jimmy serves a bunch of crow and eventually leads our team to the playoffs or Super Bowl. Then what will all of you haters say if that happens? I don't know how it is going to turn out, but I am not rooting against him, I am pulling for him and the Panthers to succeed

[Dpantherman]

So.....Whats new????

[pantherj]

Andre Neblett vs. Ed johnson let's get ready 2 rumble.

I'll start it

F### Ed johnson my research say that when Neblett was in the game the other team RB avg. 1.5 less YPC then when EJ was in the game.

You hear that you EJ lovers.

Yeah I'm pretty sure all 2 of them heard it.

[Lords0fPain]

I think if/when a vet QB is brought in to actually compete for the job, people will lay off JC (he does deserve a another chance). Right now, people feel we maybe doing the same ole tired crap that happen in years past at QB, we may have a new coaching staff, but the FO is still the same. It's the "I'll believe it when I see it" mentality. Can't say I blame anybody, either.

[raleigh-panther]

More like a sucky never was QB...

Ever hear of Jeff Lewis, yes, there have been worse QBs in Panthers history, sad to say.

[raleigh-panther]

I'm not smart enough to know whether Clausen will be a decent NFL QB or not.

I do know, that he, and the rest of the team will most likely be in a much better offense this year, one that actually uses a TE, one that probably will have a short passing game to backs out of the backfield...Norv Turner staples and totally foreign to Fox.

He will have his chance in training camp to compete to either get a starting job, get a backup job, or prepare himself to be gone. The NFL doesn't keep players around for fun. It really is up to him. How bad he wants it. How hard he wants to work.

If he makes it, if he turns it around, that only helps the Panthers. If he doesn't, he doesn't, and it will be 'Next' in the 2012 draft.

[Pox 08]

Clausen could put up good numbers next year and people will still call for his head

Pretty much. Some have been bitching about him nonstop, the moment he was drafted. Before he even took the field. If he does well next season, I expect the reason of some will be it was either Gettis or LaFell making him look much better than he is.

[Ricky Spanish]

Pretty much. Some have been bitching about him nonstop, the moment he was drafted. Before he even took the field. If he does well next season, I expect the reason of some will be it was either Gettis or LaFell making him look much better than he is.

nope it will be the new system that's making him look good.

also clausen doesn't DESERVE anything after this past year. he has to earn another shot. kid has been handed everything in his life on a silver platter, it's about time he earned something for once.

[chef17]

Pretty much. Some have been bitching about him nonstop, the moment he was drafted. Before he even took the field. If he does well next season, I expect the reason of some will be it was either Gettis or LaFell making him look much better than he is.

nope it will be the new system that's making him look good.

also clausen doesn't DESERVE anything after this past year. he has to earn another shot. kid has been handed everything in his life on a silver platter, it's about time he earned something for once.

This. Clausen can't look good on him own. It's impossible

[mav1234]

Still it looks pretty similar once again, so whilst Moore scored 5 TDs in that period, the other areas were not as strong. So considering what you said, Clausen did a job by getting the running game going and scoring, along with the additional field goals. He personally didn;t score, but the numbers are pretty much the same.

First Urry, love your stats. Keep them coming.

Second... Are you sure of this? If we look back at when the running game took off, it doesn't look to be related to Clausen at all. Let's peek back:

NYG, Week 1: 89 net rushing yards, 3.7 ypc, 0 rushing TDs

TB, Week 2: 119, 3.6, 0 Rushing TDs

Cin, Week 3: 87, 3.6, 1

NO, Week 4: 118, 5.1, 1

Chi, Week 5: 85, 3.4, 0

SF, Week 7: 76, 2.2, 0

StL, Week 8: 25, 1.5, 0

NO, Week 9: 127, 5.3, 0

TB, Week 10:118, 3.8, 1

Blt, Week 11: 120, 5.5, 0

Cle, Week 12: 151, 5.6, 1

Sea, Week 13: 131, 4.4, 2

Atl, Week 14: 212, 7.6, 1

Ari, Week 15: 177, 3.9, 0

Pitt, Week 16: 74, 3.4, 0

Atl Week 17: 132, 7.2, 0

(Clausen starts in bold, even if he didn't finish)

While he was QB over our highest rushing numbers, it looks more like at week 9 something "clicked" in the running game, because no matter who the QB was, the rushing game put up 100+ yard games, aside from Pittsburgh. You may remember week 9 to be the week where all hell broke loose on the quarterback depth chart. While Clausen certainly did improve slightly down the stretch of that time period, it wasn't as if his numbers improved hugely. While we did have rushing TDs with him under center, we didn't ALWAYS have them (even in the games he probably played the best, 2 of the last 3).

Obviously, there was too much wrong with our offense last year to pin all of it on any one person. However, it seems clear that the end of the year ended on as high a note as one could expect for him with two touchdowns in three weeks and some decent ratings and completion percentages in two of his three games. At the same time, I think crediting Clausen with creating and running the offense at a level competitive with Matt Moore by earlier in the season by enabling the running game is false.

At the same time, would you really expect the rookie to do it as well as the experienced pro? Realistically, no, and I am more worried about Clausen for his tools and mechanics (also question his leadership ability but eh) than I am his stats. I just take it out with smartass comments about his inability to do this or that.

No matter what the new coaches see in him last year, he will get another chance in camp. It'll be up to him to make the most of it or not... I just personally think the level of bad that he was gives me little hope for the kind of vast improvement I'd like to see. For what it's worth, I fully expect him to do better next year if he gets into games... just a question on if it'll be "better enough."

[Mr ocho nueve]

If we continue to score 10 points a game and lose by double digits you are absolutely right. If we score 10 points but only give up 3 a game and win 10 games, he will be the hero. In the end it is wins and losses that matter. People are unhappy because he won 1 game in 10 starts and couldn't lead us on winning drives when it mattered most of the year. Individual pass stats are not that important. If we wanted a Qb who could put up yards but lose by 20 points we would have kept Weinke.

If you look back at the game @ Saints and @ Browns, Clausen did a good job setting us up for a game winning field goal. Still lost both, but he still managed to get us down there.

[Pox 08]

nope it will be the new system that's making him look good.

also clausen doesn't DESERVE anything after this past year. he has to earn another shot. kid has been handed everything in his life on a silver platter, it's about time he earned something for once.

He doesn't deserve to be handed the starting job next season. I agree that he does have to earn it. If the new coaching staff looks at him, evaluates him, and decides that he gives us the best chance to win, then great. If they decide he should sit on the bench for a year or two, then no biggie either. At this point, I've my faith in the new coaching staff.